The War on Halloween: How the right-wing plot to ban the holiday is worse

[bluedogyellowdog]

..than you think!

"I think we ought to close Halloween down. Do you want your children to dress up as witches? The Druids used to dress up like this when they were doing human sacrifice... are acting out Satanic rituals and participating in it, and don't even realize it."--Pat Robertson"

For many examples and overview see:
http://www.religioustolerance.org/hallo_ev.htm

http://urbanlegends.about.com/od/halloween/

[Skidmore]

1. You know why they won't succeed with this stupidity?

Because Halloween, Valentine's Day, and Easter--all revamped pagan holidays--keep the sugar and confections industry and many other industries humming. Bottom line is important.

Lord, the Puritans are alive and well and wearing Prada and driving Lexuses and going to box churches.

[donsu]

15. you got it - too much money is made off these holidays

the only way these holidays will stop is if too many people don't have the money to buy stuff.

[kevinbgoode]

2. Hmm..Okay...they want to stop Halloween celebrations in schools

so let's make Halloween a national holiday and just close the schools for the day. And then when the fundies go nuts about the faux "War on Christmas". . .we'll tell them they are right - and open the schools on Christmas Day so they can have their religious-oriented parties and songs in school.

Then watch their heads spin.

[Kittycat]

3. He's been blowing that smoke up people's ass for years, and

Fewer people care what he thinks these days. As a matter of fact, my experience has shown that many churches are starting to offer, or have offered, halloween alternatives for kids. They come dressed as bible or story book characters, and have a bit party IN THE CHURCH.

[Kolesar]

4. I don't like trick or treaters at my door

And I think adults who get costumes and go to adult parties need something else to do with their time. Should go spackle the den. So that's what I think.

[cornermouse]

5. Gee...

I always bought my kids their own candy and kept them home watching very mild Halloween dvds. Also, I always thought the kids who knocked on my door were cute in their costumes.

[Grillydad]

6. My memories of Halloween are about candy and fun, NOT human sacrifice

My kids love begger's night. It is one of the great memories of their young lives. If the fundy masses want to avoid it-- great. The issue comes up when you want to stop my kids from asking the neighbors for candy one night a year because of your religious beliefs.

FWIW, my son is going as a Ninja and My daughter as Sleeping Beauty-- pretty blasted satanic.

[twilight_sailing]

10. This is a very small point but

when Pat says, "The Druids used to dress up like this when they were doing human sacrifice" he is just lying. Nobody knows much at all about the Druids. He is just pulling this out of his butt.

[proud2BlibKansan]

7. We can't celebrate Halloween at school anymore

The talibornagains convinced our school board it is an evil holiday.

[goddess40]

14. Our teachers were all to eager to get rid of Halloween

Most of them anyway, we has a few that did the optional parties for a few years until they were pressured to stop by someone. Whether that someone was nut job parents, other teachers who were getting pressured by parents to have a party or administration not wanting to deal with it I don't know.

[NC_Nurse]

8. Another mole hill to get the idjits

all in a tizzy about. Sheesh!
God forbid anyone actually have FUN anymore. :eyes:

[goddess40]

17. They work on one area at a time until they get their way

Since they don't have a real life of their own they just do what they are told at church - they will keep trying until they win, if we let them.

[mcg]

9. Does Pat Robertson support the death penalty?

From http://www.religioustolerance.org/hallo_ev3.htm

Jack Chick: His Web page states that: ...
Ancient Greek and Roman authors "dwell heavily on their frequent and barbaric human sacrifices." In reality, all modern and ancient discussions of the Druids' alleged human sacrifices can be traced back to a single passage by Julius Caesar in a book about the Gauls. He wrote that the Druids employed the death penalty for persons convicted of murderer, theft, robbery and other crimes. This compares favorably with England at the beginning of the 19th century; they punished 222 offences by hanging (or worse). 4 Caesar goes on to assert that if the Gauls ran out of criminals, they substituted innocent people. There is good reason to believe that this addendum is simply a bit of wartime propaganda invented by the author. Caesar was involved in a military campaign against the Gauls at the time that he wrote this passage. He might have easily have been tempted to exaggerate the viciousness of his enemy, in order to inflate his own accomplishments. Truth is often the first casualty of war.'

[bluedogyellowdog]

12. Interesting point

When Pat Robertson mouths off about the Druids' "human sacrifice" he fails to mention the context, which was capital punishment. Robertson supports the death penalty. This makes Pat Robertson a hypocrite.

Here's another one. If dressing up as witches and ghosts is Satanic, what is this?:

[seabeyond]

11. family time spent together in laughter, joy, love and quality time

dressing up as evil and mocking them..... in love. interacting with the rest of the neighborhood saying hi to neighbors we hadnt seen since the year previous. all in love and joy and fun and laughter, all the while, dismissing evilness in silliness

ya

i am sure god has issues with this holiday

[Human Torch]

13. I used to belong to a church...

...that had a "Harvest Festival" for the kids each year because they wouldn't endorse a "Halloween Party." It was basically a Halloween party with none of the symbols (no Jack-O-Lanterns, black cats, witches, spider webs, etc. etc. etc.), no scary movies, basically just food and "Christian Rock" CDs playing in the background and things like that.

I thought it was a little extreme, but as I said, I "used to" belong to that church.

:patriot:

[BlooInBloo]

16. People used to dress up as christians when they burned people...

.... at the stake too.

Unfortunately people still dress up as christians.